


"i really like you, you know that?"

by spiderrstars



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Comfort, Crushes, I'm projecting again, M/M, Soft™, rantaro may look cool but he's very soft too!!!!!, shuichi is very easily embarrassed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 14:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20083384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiderrstars/pseuds/spiderrstars
Summary: Shuichi digs himself into a bit of a hole when talking to Rantaro, and lies about being sick. Naturally, Rantaro wants to help him feel better, which only gets Shuichi more embarrassed.





	"i really like you, you know that?"

**Author's Note:**

> hi i love amasai thank you all for coming anyways this fic is so soft please enjoy

Shuichi’s grip hardened on the hem of his jacket, and he felt a wave of blush splash over his face. 

“Hey Rantaro!” Kaede called cheerfully, looking back over her shoulder briefly to catch Shuichi’s eye beneath his hat. 

Shuichi’s face grew in alarm, and he frantically waved both his hands at Kaede in panic from a seat at the dining hall table. 

“What are you  _ doing _ !” He spat in a whisper. 

“Trying to  _ help you _ , dummy!” She whispered in response, turning back to the figure of Rantaro, who had approached the two. 

“Hey Kaede! Oh! And Shuichi,” He caught a glimpse of Shuichi, whose face was plastered with embarrassment. “You alright?” 

“Uh-uhm..er-”

“He’s fine!” Kaede quickly draped over Shuichi’s stammering, sliding a bit to cover him from Rantaro’s eye. “He’s just...he has... a bit of a fever.” 

Rantaro cocked his head just enough to catch sight of Shuichi again.    
“Ah, I’m sorry about that, Shuichi,” Rantaro took a seat next to Shuichi at the table. “Wanna get a drink or something to cool down? Like, if that’d even help...probably not, but uh, it’s the thought that counts, right?” 

Rantaro placed a neatly manicured hand armored with rings on Shuichi’s shoulder. Shuichi felt himself shiver, praying Rantaro wouldn’t notice the shudder of his shoulders under his hand. 

“Ah, it must be bad, huh? The chills are the worst.” 

Shuichi sighed, his hot breath brushing against Rantaro’s hand.

“You check his temp yet, Kaede?” 

“Ah! No, I haven’t,” Kaede took a seat across from the two. 

Rantaro lifted the back of his hand to feel Shuichi’s cheek.    
“Geez, you’re really burning up!”

Shuichi managed a nervous laugh as he eyed Kaede, who was holding back a fit of genuine laughter. She swore that Shuichi’s face had dyed itself three shades redder the second Rantaro had touched his face.    
“Maybe we should get him a compress, Rantaro?” Kaede offered, already half out of her seat. 

“Yeah, definitely.” 

“Okay, just wait here with him! I’ll be right back,” Kaede got out of her seat, making her way to the kitchen in the next room over. 

Once Kaede left, Rantaro turned to face Shuichi better, trying to catch his gaze. 

“Shuichi?” 

“UH-y-yeah?” He croaked, his throat closing up by the second. He still refused to match Rantaro’s gaze, instead staring at a thin scrape on the table. 

“Ooh, your throat hurt too?” 

“Ah, uh, maybe a little bit,” Cautiously, he brought his eyes up to meet Rantaro’s gaze, only to find that Rantaro had directed his attention to his lips. He felt his throat catch again. “It’s probably just because I haven’t been drinking enough water.” 

“Ah, that makes sense. In that case you should really get some water. I’ll ask Kaede when she comes back.” 

“O-okay.” 

“Shuichi.” 

Shuichi finally met Rantaro’s eyes, suddenly lost in their grey-green marble. A big smile spread onto Rantaro’s face, and he quickly looked down, willing it away.    
“What?” Shuichi suddenly felt like he could burst into tears at any second. “Are you making fun of me?” 

“ _ What _ ? O-of course not! I was just…” Rantaro trailed off, thoughts interrupted by Kaede’s entrance. 

“I’m back! Sorry about that!” She placed a bowl on the table, filled with cold water and a washcloth. 

“No, it’s alright! Sorry to keep you on your feet, but could you get Shuichi some water too? He really needs to drink something. I’m guessing that’s why he feels like this in the first place.” 

“Shuichi! Didn’t I tell you hydration was important?! Of course you won’t listen to  _ me _ though...just kidding! I can get that right now.” 

She left the room again, and Rantaro again put his focus on Shuichi.   
“Do you mind taking your hat off?” 

“Um...y-yeah that’s okay,” Shuichi gently removed his hat, placing it on the table with unstable hands. 

“Okay…” Rantaro mumbled to himself, scooting his chair closer to Shuichi.

He grabbed a bobby pin from his own hair, sticking the end of it in his mouth. 

“Whoops! Sorry about that, instinct. I don’t have to use this one.”

“Oh, uh...it’s okay, I don’t care.” 

“Alright,” Rantaro proceeded to pin Shuichi’s hair away from his forehead, staring at Shuichi’s unobstructed face a little longer than he probably should have. 

Shuichi met Rantaro’s eyes again, becoming more familiar with the feeling. 

“Er-sorry for staring,” Rantaro’s own face blushed a bit, catching Shuichi off guard. “You just have... _ really _ pretty eyes…”

Shuichi’s face, which had just started to recover in terms of redness, experienced another bout of blush. 

“T-th-thank you,” His voice came out small, weak. A small smirk snuck onto Rantaro’s face, vanishing like lightning.    
Rantaro wrung out the washcloth into the bowl before gently pressing the cloth to Shuichi’s forehead. 

Kaede walked back into the room again, placing a tall glass of water onto the table near Shuichi.    
“Here you go! Hope that helps a bit, Shuichi!” Kaede took her seat back across from Shuichi and Rantaro. 

“Ah, thanks,” Shuichi met Kaede’s eyes again, which were full of reassurance. 

“Doesn’t Shuichi have pretty eyes, Kaede?” 

“Oh my god you’re _ so _ right! I just wish you could see them better!” 

“Right? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to, but your whole look would like, be  _ so _ much better if you drop the hat,” The same smile curved its way onto Rantaro’s face again as he talked.    
“You think so?” Shuichi smiled at the remark. Kaede had told him the same thing a million times before, but for some reason, hearing it from Rantaro was far more convincing. 

“Yeah, of course! And it’s not just cause I wanna daydream and get lost in your eyes or anything,” Rantaro smirked again, and Shuichi felt himself stiffen. 

“Oh, shut  _ uuup _ , Rantaro! I think that’s exactly what you want to do!” Kaede burst in, all smiles herself.    
“Wh-” 

“ _ You _ shut up, Kaede! I thought that was supposed to be a secret!”

“ _ What _ , that you think Sh-” Kaede caught herself, slapping a hand over her mouth to plug words from spilling out any further. 

“ _ KAEDE _ -” Rantaro felt laughter rise in his voice, despite the fact that he should’ve been mad at Kaede. 

“ _ What’s happening?! _ ” Shuichi strained his voice to yell out the question. 

It was met with blank silence, and then a duet of laughter from Rantaro and Kaede. Once it had settled down, Kaede was the first to talk.    
“Oh my god. Rantaro I’m so sorry-I’m just gonna  _ leave _ -” Kaede jumped out of her seat, laughter overtaking her sentences. “Hope you feel better Shuichi!” 

And so, Kaede had left Rantaro and Shuichi alone together, again. 

“Seriously, what was that about?” 

“Uh...nothing,” Rantaro lied, removing the cloth from Shuichi’s forehead and placing it back in the cold water. 

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?” 

“ _ Well _ , so is you having a fever, right?” 

“I- _ look _ , it was all-” 

“ _ Kaede _ . That’s what you were going to say.” 

“Uh...yeah…” Shakily, Shuichi took a gulp of water. 

“Look I uh...I kinda figured out that you have a crush on me. Like, immediately.”

Shuichi’s grip hardened, making imprints on the frosted water glass. 

“I mean, every time I show up you get all...you know. Red. Normally you look deathly pale, so it’s pretty easy to tell.”

Shuichi wordlessly took another sip of water. 

“But-I uh...I have a crush on you too.” 

Shuichi nearly spat out his water, slamming the glass down onto the table and coughing. 

“Ah-you okay?!” 

“Y-yeah...I just…I wasn’t expecting that.” 

“And you’re the Ultimate Detective! I thought you’d have found out already!” 

Shuichi laughed a little, meeting Rantaro’s eyes.   
“I’m not as clever as my title suggests, really. Especially when it comes to...uh…” 

“Boys?” 

“Y-yeah…I can never really read people’s intent. I guess I just thought you were being friendly…” Shuichi trailed off, breaking eye contact again. 

Rantaro placed a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder again. Shuichi didn’t shudder this time. 

“I really like you, you know that?” 

“I do now.” 

“Good,” Rantaro gently slipped the bobby pin out of Shuichi’s hair, placing it back in his own. 

Rantaro scooted his chair forward even further, leaning closer to Shuichi. He put his arm around Shuichi, pressing a nervous kiss to his lips. As Rantaro backed away, Shuichi could see his hands shaking ever so slightly. Rantaro’s face was beet red, and he was staring at the ground. 

“I really like you too, Rantaro.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! comments and kudos are highly appreciated!!


End file.
